Chapter 751 The First Dead by the Blade
Chu Ruoyan frowned and immediately said, "It's not Pan Qing. She's been by my side for so many years, I know her character well!"
Shang Ruyi looked up at Pan Qing. At this moment, Pan Qing was no longer the confident woman who had been standing here just now, using both soft and hard tactics to force herself to eat a bite of the pastry in front of her. Especially after hearing that the pastry contained a drug that could cause pregnant women to miscarry, she was terrified and her whole body was trembling.
Pan Qing said, "I don't have any. I've never heard of such a thing."
After saying that, she immediately went to Chu Ruoyan's side and said in a trembling voice, "Madam, you must stand up for me. I am not that kind of person."
"..."
"I have been by your side since I was a child, Madam. Your thoughts are my thoughts. If you want to get closer to the Princess, I will only help you. How could I possibly interfere?"
"..."
"Besides, after Madam put the things inside, I carried them over directly. There's only a short path between Jin Yu Yuan and Qian Qiu Palace, everyone could see it. I didn't even open the box!"
Seeing her flustered and incoherent, revealing her true thoughts, Chu Ruoyan blushed slightly and gently scolded, "Why are you panicking? Of course I believe you!"
Pan Qing then meekly shut her mouth.
Seeing this, Shang Ruyi couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly.
The relationship between the master and servant is somewhat similar to that between herself and Tushe'er. Because they grew up together, the servant girl protects her master like a mother hen protecting her chicks, which is both fierce and instinctive. So when something happens to her, Tushe'er will do anything to find someone to settle the score. And when Panqing sees that her mistress's handmade food is being neglected, she is so self-righteous in forcing her to eat a bite before she will stop.
Moreover, if there really is a problem with the items, upon closer investigation, the responsibility will definitely fall on the two of them, mistress and servant. Yuwen Yuan values this child so much that even if he doesn't punish Chu Ruoyan out of consideration for the face of the former dynasty's princess, Pan Qing will definitely be the first to die by his blade.
Pan Qing wouldn't be so unaware of this, and therefore wouldn't be so self-righteous.
Adding to her last sentence—
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi turned to look at Tu She'er. Sure enough, Tu She'er also frowned and recalled for a moment, then walked to her side and said softly, "This servant saw Pan Qing come over, and she really didn't do anything else."
Shang Ruyi nodded slightly.
She remembered that Tu She'er had come in to report before Pan Qing arrived at Qianqiu Palace today. Obviously, Tu She'er must have seen Pan Qing leave Jinyu Garden and walk this way. Qianqiu Palace and Jinyu Garden are right next to each other, only a hundred steps apart. If Pan Qing really did something wrong along the way, not to mention whether the palace servants passing by would see it, Tu She'er, who had been keeping an eye on Jinyu Garden for the past two days, would have noticed it.
Now it seems it really wasn't her.
Then, who else could it be?
Shang Ruyi frowned and said, "After these pastries were put into the box, they really didn't pass through anyone else's hands?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ruoyan and Pan Qing exchanged another glance. The two of them clearly recalled what had happened that day, and finally shook their heads at the same time: "No."
The Thousand Autumns Hall fell silent again.
Su Qinglan glanced at the terrified Chu Ruoyan and her maid, then at the solemn Shang Ruyi, and hesitated before saying, "If there's really no other way, perhaps we should report to His Highness Prince Qin, or—His Majesty. In any case, we must find out the reason behind this matter."
Upon hearing this, Chu Ruoyan's face turned even paler.
Su Qinglan's words were naturally intended to uncover the truth and also to protect herself. She was ordered to protect Shang Ruyi's pregnancy, but someone dared to "poison" the pregnant Princess Qin. As the saying goes, it's easy to dodge a spear but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. If she couldn't find out the truth, and this person actually succeeded one day, how could she, as the Imperial Physician Assistant, not be punished?
However, having grown up in the palace since childhood, and especially after experiencing the fall of her country and the destruction of her family, Chu Ruoyan was even more aware of some of the secrets within the palace.
Some things, you can't tell just by looking at them.
Once it's on the scale, it weighs a ton!
For example, in this matter at hand, if Shang Ruyi were to investigate further, whatever they found would be their business and wouldn't cause much of a stir. However, if it were reported to the emperor, it would be a crime. Putting aside everything else, he and Pan Qing were the ones who handled the pastries, and they would definitely be implicated. Yuwen Yuan might be mindful of his status and not punish him severely, but he would still be spared the death penalty but not escape punishment.
As for Pan Qing, her life was probably not even within the emperor's consideration.
Upon thinking about it, Chu Ruoyan immediately said, "No, let's investigate this matter thoroughly before reporting it to His Majesty!"
After saying that, she looked at Shang Ruyi with difficulty: "Your Highness, is it alright?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi frowned and looked at her for a long time. In fact, she had also considered the things that Chu Ruoyan was worried about, but she also had to consider the safety of herself and the baby in her womb. Someone was secretly targeting her. If she didn't find out the truth, she would become a sitting duck!
But if Chu Ruoyan and her servant are truly innocent, then—
After a long silence, so long that Chu Ruoyan could hardly breathe, Shang Ruyi finally looked up at her and said with a solemn expression, "One night."
Chu Ruoyan's eyes widened: "Huh?"
Shang Ruyi said, "I will give you one night, and I will also give myself one night."
"..."
“This box of things went from Jin Yu Yuan to Qian Qiu Palace. It could only have gone wrong in one of those two places. Go back and investigate your people, and I will also investigate the people in Qian Qiu Palace. We need to have a result by tomorrow.”
"..."
"If not, I will report this to His Majesty and let him decide on the matter!"
Chu Ruoyan's face was pale, but she breathed a sigh of relief and said to Shang Ruyi, "Alright, if it really happened in my palace, I'll go back and dig three feet into the ground to find this person and give you an explanation!"
After saying that, she turned and walked out with Panqing.
Watching the two figures disappear in a hurry, Shang Ruyi remained silent for a long time before looking at Su Qinglan, whose brows were still slightly furrowed and who was clearly still uneasy. She said softly, "I'll trouble Lord Su to leave this matter alone for now, until tomorrow—"
Su Qinglan looked at her, her eyes flickering, and said, "Your Highness, if we can't find out by tomorrow, will Your Highness really report to His Majesty?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi's eyes darkened.
After saying this, Su Qinglan clearly realized that she had spoken out of turn. However, this matter concerned her life and fortune. She hesitated for a long time, but in the end, she didn't say anything more. She just bowed and said, "Then this humble subject will take his leave. I will come again tomorrow to take the princess's pulse."
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and said, "Please take care, Lord Su."
Su Qinglan slung her medicine chest over her shoulder and turned to leave. Tu She'er, still maintaining proper etiquette, followed her all the way to the gate before turning back with a heavy heart. Seeing Shang Ruyi's still furrowed brow, she softly said, "Your Highness..."
Shang Ruyi looked up at her: "What's wrong?"
Tushe'er hesitated for a moment, then finally asked, "If we can't find out by tomorrow, are you really going to report to His Majesty?"
At this moment, Chang Wan, who was clearing away the cups and dishes on the other side, also paused for a moment, looking at Shang Ruyi with a worried expression. She was clearly still worried about what Shang Ruyi had just said about reporting to the emperor if there were no results tomorrow.
Shang Ruyi's gaze deepened.
Just as she had just thought, some things are fine if you don't weigh them, but once you do, they become unbearable. If this matter were really reported to Yuwen Yuan, she was almost certain that Pan Qing's life would be in danger.
Then there's no possibility of peaceful coexistence between me and Chu Ruoyan anymore.
If Chu Ruoyan really did this, then she deserves it. Even if she wants revenge, as the Princess Consort of Qin, she has no reason to fear a mere concubine. But judging from the behavior of the two of them just now, Shang Ruyi really couldn't see any possibility that they would poison her.
Wouldn't that mean killing an innocent person unjustly?
The person who actually did it will likely disappear without a trace and never be found again, and Yuwen Ye will truly be branded as someone who "failed to manage his household well."
Moreover, she felt something was off about this whole thing, whether it was her imagination or not.
Perhaps from the day her pregnancy was diagnosed, her belly had become a target for some people, so she wasn't surprised that someone would make a move against her. But targeting Chu Ruoyan, with whom she had always been at odds, was a bit too conspicuous. It didn't seem like they wanted to harm her, but rather like they wanted to cause trouble in Yuwen Ye's household.
Just as Shang Ruyi was lost in thought, she heard Tushe'er's worried voice again: "Your Highness?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi then looked up at her, then at the worried Chang Wan beside her, and calmly said, "I have my own plans, you don't need to ask any more questions. Clean this place up."
Changwan hurriedly cleaned up the dishes.
Tushe'er then asked, "Your Highness, do we really need to investigate in the palace?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at her and smiled helplessly, "Panqing carried that box in herself, and it wasn't until it reached this main hall that she handed it to Changwan. Changwan then immediately gave it to me, and I opened it myself, while you were standing right next to me the whole time. So, who do you think we're investigating in the palace? The two of you?"
After saying that, he laughed and said, "If I can't even trust the two of you, who can I trust?"
Tushe'er immediately laughed happily.
When Changwan came in and heard this, she was happy, but after thinking for a moment, she still said, "Your Highness, my humble opinion is that we should search the place thoroughly. I just saw that all the lights in Jinyu Garden were on, so they must be searching for things and people. Your Highness also just told Madam Chu that we also need to search, so it wouldn't be good if there was no movement at all."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi thought it made sense, so she nodded and said, "Alright, you two go and investigate, but don't make too much of a fuss, lest His Majesty finds out before the matter is even reported."
The two immediately replied, "Yes."
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